Last pulling machine



q F 3 1948- F. RICKS ET AL LAST PULLING MACHINE Fi1ed Dec. 11, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet l fnz/en 01s Fred Picks En gma/4B. Woodcock.

Feb. 10, 1948. F. RlCKS ET AL LAST PULLING MACHINE Filed Dec. 11, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3,

5 WM t E 0 um nF P639621 a [d B Woodcqak Patented Feb. 10, 1948 LAST PULLING MACHINE Fred Ricks and Reginald Boyd Woodcock, Leicester, England, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 11, 1945, Serial No. 634,260

, In Great Britain January 31, 1945 This invention relates to machines for effecting relative movement between shoes and lasts upon which the shoes are mounted and is herein illustrated and described as embodied in a machine for separating shoes from lasts.

In United States Letters Patent No. 2,133,397, granted October 18, 1938, upon theapplication of Albert Pickford, there is disclosed a machine provided with a driven roll, a support for a last with a shoe thereon movable toward the roll by depression of a treadle, and a friction member interposed between the shoe and the roll which operates when pressed against the roll by the shoe'to partake of the movement of the roll and thereby to move the shoe relatively to the last. The machine disclosed herein is likewise provided with a driven roll, a last support movable toward the roll, and a friction tool interposed between the shoe and the roll.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved machine of the type under consideration wherein the friction toolis conveniently held away from both the roll and the shoe while the last is being placed upon the last support and in which the roll is driven only during the performance of the operation. In accordance with a feature of the invention, the friction tool is mounted upon guides which normally hold the tool away from the roll but which yield. to permit the tool to be forced against the roll by the pressure of the shoe. In accordance with a further feature, the roll is connected to its driving means by a clutch which is operated'from the treadle to cause engagement of the clutch upon depression of .the treadle and disengagement upon release of the treadle.

The invention will now be described with ref- .erence to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an illustrative machine embodying the invention;

, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the friction tool and its guide;

Fig. 4. is a sectional viewtaken on the line IV--IV of Fig. 3;- i

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line VV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken through the axis of a clutch for-connecting the driven roll of the machine with and disconnecting it from a .source of power; 5 p r supported in inverted 7 Claims. (Cl. 12-151) Fig. 8 isa section taken on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. '7; V

Fig. 9 is a section t ken on the line IX-IX of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged View showing one of the clutch pins and its cooperating recess.

The work-engaging instrumentalities of the illustrated machine comprise a friction tool 20 and an upstanding last pin 22. The last pin 22 is adapted to engage the usual thimble hole of a last L (Fig. 2) upon which is loosely mounted a shoe S. The last and shoe are thus position with the heel end of the shoe extending toward the tool 20. The machine is also provided with a driven roll 24, the tool 26 being interposed between the heel end of the shoe S and the roll 24 and normally out of contact with both. The supporting structure of the machine comprises a hollow frame or housing 26.

The last pin 22 is mounted with provision for heightwise adjustment in the upper portion of lever 28 the lower end of which is fulcrumed upon a pin 30 supported indirectly by the frame 26. A treadle 32, connected by a link 34, a lever 36, and a link 38 to an arm 40 of the lever 28,

operates when depressed to swing the lever inwardly toward the roll 24. A spring 42 normally holds the treadle 32 in an upper stop position. A stationary pin 44 extending forwardly from the frame 26 engages a heightwise slot 46 in the lever 28 to hold the lever against lateral movement. The construction of the lever 28, treadle 32, and the connections therebetween is similar to that of the corresponding members of the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,820,952, granted September 1, 1931, upon the application of John M. Whelton and Arthur F. Pym. While'not necessary to the present invention, the mechanism disclosed in the patent to Whelton and Pym for shifting the lever 28 laterally may be incorporated in the present machine, if desired.

The friction tool 20 consists of a substantially rectangular metal plate 48 (Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6) having a pair of cylindrical lugs 59 at its lefthand corners and a, similar pair of cylindrical lugs 52 at its right-hand corners. The lugs 50 are bored to engage with a sliding fit a guide rod 54, and the lugs 52 are bored to engage with a sliding fit a guiderod 56. The portions of the guide rods 54, 56 engaged by the lugs 50 and 52 are straight and parallel to each other, ex-

.tending in a generally heightwise direction to guide the plate 48 for up and down movement.

The upper end portions of the guide rods 54 and 56 are designated by the numerals 58 and 60 (Fig. 1), respectively, and are curved (see also Fig. 2) rearwardly and downwardly to form U-shaped springs, the lower rear ends of these springs being secured in sockets 62 mounted on a shelf 64 carried by the frame 26. The U- shaped portions 58 and 60 as well as the guiding portions of the guide rods 54 and 50 are parallel. The lower ends of the guiding portions of the guide rods 54 and 56 are spaced apart by a crosspiece 66 supported by nuts 68 threaded upon the lower ends of the guide rods. The crosspiece 66 serves also to. support the friction tool 20 in its normal or low position. The forward face of the plate 48 is covered with a pad 10 of rubber or rubber-like material adapted frictionally to engage the shoe S, and the rear face of the plate 48 is similarly covered with a pad 12 of rubber or rubber-like material for frictional engagement with the roll 24. At the upper end of the guide portions of the guide rods '54 and 56 is a crosspiece 14 which holds the rods in spaced parallel relation.

The roll 24 is driven through gearing 76, a vertical shaft .18, a gear 80 on the lower end of the shaft '18, the gear 80 being held against upward movement by a thrust bearing 8| (Fig. 7), a gear 82 on the forward end of a shaft 84, and gearing 86 driven from a motor 88, all of which are similar to the corresponding elements of the machine disclosed in the above-mentioned patent to Whelton and Pym, except for an arrangement with which. the present machine is provided to disconnect the driving mechanism of the roll 24 at the end of each operation. This arrangement consists in mounting the gear 80 for free rotation upon the shaft 18 and in transmitting the drive from the gear to the shaft through a clutch which will now be described. The gear 80 (Fig. '7) is held against downward movement on the shaft I8 by a collar 81 secured to the shaft by a tapered pin 89. The driven member of the clutch comprises a disk 90 having a hub 92 which is slidable axially upon the shaft 78 and which is held against rotation relatively to the shaft by a key 94. Extending upwardly from the upper face of the clutch disk 90 are pins 96 which engage corresponding recesses 98 in the lower face of the gear 80, the gear itself thus constituting the driving clutch member. In order to insure easy entry of the pins 96 into the recesses 98, tapered slots I (Fig. are provided leading to the recesses, the recesses terminating abruptly in abutment walls I02 which enter into driving engagement with the pins 96 to transmit drive into the disk 90. Surrounding a reduced portion of the hub 92 and retained thereupon by a ring I04 is a ring I06 from which extend a pair of diametrically opposite trunnion pins I08. These trunnion pins engage slots .in the ends of a yokeshaped lever IIO which is fulcrumed upon a pin II 2 secured in ears II4 (Fig. 1) extending downwardly from a housing II 6 which encloses the gear 82. Extending beyond the fulcrum is a tail portion II8 of the lever IIO, the right-hand end of the tail II8 being forked to provide a pair of ears I20 in which is journaled a cross pin I22. Pivotally connected at its lower end to the treadle 32 and extending upwardly through a diametrical bore in the pin I 22 is. a rod I24 which terminates in a head I26. A compression spring I28 surrounding the rod I24 is interposed between the head I26 and a Washer I29 which bears downwardly upon a flat surface on the pin I22. It is evident that depression of the treadle 32 will compress the spring I28 and yieldingly raise the clutch disk 90 until the pins 98, entering the inclined slots I00, will be engaged by the abutment surfaces I02, whereupon the shaft 18 will be driven. Upon release of the treadle the spring 42 will raise the treadle and the rod I24. To insure release of the clutch when the treadle is released, the rod I24 is provided with acollar I30 which engages the pin I22 from beneath when the rod I24 rises, such engagement serving to rock the lever H0 in a direction to lower the clutch pins 96 out of engagement with the recesses 98. Upon such disengagement of the clutch the roll 24 will come to rest.

In order to prevent dust or small objects from being drawn into the hollow frame 26 above the roll 24, and also to protect the hands of the operator, a guard plate I32 secured to the shelf 64 closes the opening between the shelf and the roll.

In operating the machine, the depression of the treadle, acting through the spring I28, causes the clutch disk 90 to rise until the ends of the pins 96 bear yieldingly against the under surface of the gear 80. Rotation of the gear brings the recesses 98 into engagement with the pins 96, whereupon the shaft I8 and the roll 24 are driven. The depression of the treadle also swings the lever 28 inwardly, bringing the counter portion of the shoe s against the friction tool 20 and pushing the friction tool inwardly, as the springs 58 and 60 yield, until the friction tool is pressed between the shoe and the roll 24 and is raised by the rotating roll. The tool 20, in frictional engagement with the counter portion of the shoe S that Is pressed against it, will raise the counter portion of the shoe relatively to the last. The operator thereupon releases the treadle, permitting the lever 28 to swing forwardly to its normal position wherein the last pin is conveniently located for removal of the last and the loosened shoe and replacement by a last with a shoe to be operated upon. The release of the treadle also moves the clutch disk away from the gear 80 and thereby disengages the clutch, permitting the roll 24 to stop.

Because of the stiffness of the metal plate 48, the friction tool 20 affords good protection to the roll 24, avoiding undue wear of the roll 24 by distributing the heavy pressure of the shoe over the full length of the roll. The metal plate also prevents the shoe from embedding itself too deeply into the friction material and it thereby protects the shoe from damage which might otherwise result from the crushing lateral pressure of the friction material as the shoe is raised from the last.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for effecting relative movement between a shoe and a last, comprising. a support for a last, a driven element, said support and said driven element being constructed and arranged for relative movement of approach with respect to each other, means for effecting said relative movement of approach, a normally stationary friction tool interposed between a shoe on the last and the driven element, said friction said friction tool, and a stationary mounting for said friction tool support independent of said last support, said friction tool support being yielding to permit pressure to be developed bea tween the shoe and the driven element through the friction tool upon relative movement of approach between the last support and the driven element.

2. A machine for effecting relative movement between a shoe and a last, comprising a support for a last with a shoe thereon, a driven roll, means for moving the last support toward the roll, a friction tool interposed between the shoe and the roll and normally out of contact with both, said friction tool being constructed and arranged when pressed against the roll by the shoe to be moved by the roll and through frictional engagement with the shoe to move the shoe relatively to the last, means for guiding the friction tool in such movement, and a resilient support for said guiding means constructed and arranged to permit the guiding means to yield toward the roll and thereby to permit the shoe to press the friction tool against the roll when the last support is moved toward the roll.

3. In a machine of the type wherein movement is transmitted from a driven element through an intermediate friction tool to a shoe on a last to move the shoe relatively to the last, a driven element in the form of a, roll, and an intermediate friction tool comprising a, metal plate padded on both sides with frictional material of a rubberlike character, said friction tool being adapted to be pressed between the roll and the shoe to transmit frictional force from the roll to the shoe.

4. In a machine of the type wherein movement is transmitted from a driven element through an intermediate friction tool to a shoe on a last to move ,the shoe relatively to the last, a guide for the friction tool comprising a pair of parallel rods having curved spring portions and straight guiding portions, the friction tool being movable along the straight portions of'the rods and being yieldably held away from the driven element by the curved spring portions of the rods.

5. A machine for effecting relative movement I between a shoe and a last, comprising a, support for a last with a shoe thereon, a driven roll, means for moving the last support toward the roll, a friction tool in the form of a metal plate covered on each side with friction material, said friction tool being constructed and arranged 6 when pressed against the roll by the shoe to be moved by the roll and through frictional engagement with the shoe to move the shoe relatively to the last, a pair of parallel guide rods on which said friction tool is slidably mounted for movement caused by the roll, U-shaped extensions of said guide rods adapted to serve as springs which hold the guiding portions of the rods normally in a position wherein the friction tool is out of contact with the roll and which yield to the pressure of the shoe and thereby permit the shoe to press the friction tool against the roll, and a support for said U-shaped extensions.

6. In a machine of the roll type for separating a shoe from a last on which the shoe is mounted, a friction tool in the form of a metal plate padded on both sides with frictional material of rubberlike character, a pair of parallel rods having straight guiding portions and U-shaped spring portions, a support for the U-shaped portions of said rods, said friction tool being slidably mounted on the guiding portions of said rods and being normally held out of contact with said roll by the spring portions of the rods, said spring portions being yieldable to permit the shoe to press the friction tool against the roll, whereupon the friction tool will be moved along the guiding portions by the roll and will, in turn, move the shoe relatively to the last.

'7. In a machine of the roll type for moving a shoe relatively to a last on which the shoe is mounted, a last support, a roll, a. treadle, connections from said treadle to said last support to move the last support toward the roll when the treadle is depressed, driving means for said roll, a clutch in said driving means, and a connection from said treadle for causing engagement of the clutch upon depression of the treadle and disengagement of the clutch upon release of the treadle.

FRED RICKS.

REGINALD BOYD WOODCOCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

